Chapter 30

XIAO NING'ER POV

Their group of over 40 walked through the hills that overlooked a large river.

The sky was clear, the ground was still a little wet from the morning dew and a gentle morning breeze blew every now and then.

All in all, the journey had started as well as it could have. And she would be enjoying herself immensely if it wasn't her first time ever leaving the Glory City. It was understandable that she would be slightly nervous about the whole thing.

The fact that they had passed a ruined and destroyed village no half an hour ago was the primary reason for the nervousness of her and the other kids around her even though they were hiding their fear just as well as she was.

In fact, aside from Chen Linjian and his core group of Silver Rank Demon Spritituals, everyone in the group looked a little nervous.

Everyone except for…

"You don't need to look so worried." Her friend/lover? said in a calm and soothing voice as he walked beside her while maintaining a little distance between them. Always that little bit of distance.

She could understand his reasons for not wanting to be seen in public with her. She was after all betrothed to the Sacred Family. And her being seen with some other boy would raise all kinds of question and he wasn't yet strong enough to protect the both of them.

And if what he said about the Sacred Family being connected to the Dark Guild was true (which it most likely was), then she didn't want to gain their attention. That is why she kept her hands to herself even if she wanted nothing more to hold his hand and walk alongside him, feeling safe and at peace like she did this morning before dawn.

"That village back there was built by a family called Green Cloud Family."

"What happened to them?" she asked.

"During the last Demon Beast horde attack, they were given a portion of the Outer Western Gate to hold. I don't know the full story but it is said that the Patriarch of the family tried to desert with his core followers. That action of his led to the Demon Beasts almost breaking through the defensive lines before they were stopped by the Fighters from the other families."

"What happened then?"

"Well… once the Demon Beast Horde attack stopped, the actions of the Green Cloud family came into light. Despite having held back the Demon Beasts, many Fighters and Demon Spiritualists from the other families sacrificed their lives to keep the Demon Beasts at bay. Because of this, the public was enraged by their actions. The City Lord decided to exile the whole family in order to make an example of the people who would dare try something like this in the future."

"I see. So that village…"

"Yes. After the exile, they tried to live outside the City but as you can see." He shrugged "It didn't work out."

"What happened to them?" she asked.

"No one knows." He said "Most likely, a few powerful Demon Beasts attacked them and they were wiped out. But it's also possible that they decided to move or might be that the Dark Guild took them in."

"Oh…" she said, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh indeed." He said and she could almost imagine his smile without even looking in his direction. Had they really become so close in such a short time "But the point is that no powerful Demon Beasts have been sighted in this area so we're most likely safe. This Chen Linjian guy knows what he's doing. Or more likely he's been given a map by his family and told which area is safer and which is more dangerous."

"So we're safe."

He looked at her with a smile that sent a warmth down her cheeks and spoke "Generally speaking. Yes. But the truth is that as soon as we left Glory City, we have stepped into dangerous territory. And while Chen Linjian has indeed chosen a safer path for us, that doesn't mean that we're hundred percent safe. Sometimes Demon Beasts move around for various reasons. So don't let your guard down."

"You're not making me feel any less nervous you know." She grumbled at him. It still surprised her that she could be so open with someone and didn't have to wear her cold and indifferent mask around him. It felt good even though he could so infuriating sometimes.

He chuckled at her "Well. With me around, you don't really need to worry." He said "If our group is attacked by Demon beasts, then I'll simply take you inside the Pocket Dimension."

"But you can't enter your own pocket dimension." She said. She knew the limitation of his power and knew that his body always remained outside whenever he himself tried to entered the Pocket Dimension.

"True." He nodded "But with Facsimile, I'll not die as long as even a single one of my Clone is alive. And I have over 16 of them now."

"You dying to a Demon Beast is still not okay with me." She said, a little frustrated that he was taking his own life so casually even if his words made her feel safe and warm.

He shrugged "You don't need to worry too much about it. Even if a Black Gold Demon Beast attacked me, I'll still be able to fight back with the thousands of Black Gold Inscriptions I have. Hell, I might even succeed in killing it."

She nodded, thinking about the 100 Black Gold Ranked Inscriptions Scrolls he had given her.

Each scroll of such high rank easily cost millions of Demon Spirit coins and he had just given them to her for her safety.

How could a girl not feel loved even after all this.

"I have a request Itachi."

He hummed in response, meaning that he was listenining.

"If a powerful Demon Beast attacks us, then… I want you to protect Ye Ziyun as well."

"I thought you hated her." He said, his tone amused.

She sighed, remembering all the times she spent with Ye Ziyun… before she realized the difference between them.

"I… I don't hate her." She said "It's just that… Please just promise me that you'll try to protect Ye Ziyun as well."

He turned to look at her and she looked back at him, holding his gaze until he nodded.

"Very well then. I'll protect her." He said "Who knows, the City lord might even give me access to the City Lord's treasury as a reward for protecting his precious little daughter." Then his tone became serious "Plus… with what's about to come. We'll need out City lord in his best condition. Not as a grieving father."

She nodded, he face becoming serious at the reminder of the dark future of Glory City.

After that, they walked in silence.